December Lights

It's amazing that the neighbors are cool with the glowing 8 ft obelisk behind my house. Maybe it's just Christmas cheer. Or, maybe they assume it's cannibis and the cops are going to show up. For the record, they're all Passiflora!

New Epidemic

I recently helped a local Passiflora FB friend add a few plants to her collection. She was kind enough to bring some Epiphyllum cuttings for me. I wasn't very familiar with that genus, but I soon became hooked. Moreover, I purchased a bunch more cuttings and plan to visit the local enthusiast group that meets monthly. There was a little floor space available in the greenhouse, so I decided to make use of it.

My collection now includes:

Kirby's Giant
Jesse's Tower
Canary Princess
Hidden Treasure
Sherman Brahm
Princess Kelly
Chuckles
Jungle Red
Poison
Tribute to Beauty
Nocturne
Clown
and a few Unknowns

Sweet Cirrhiflora

I noticed a yellow spot through the polycarbonate walls of my greenhouse this morning. I found the first Passiflora cirrhiflora bud of the second blooming this year opening part way. I waited a little later to take some pictures, and in doing that, I was rewarded with a sweet fragrance filling my little greenhouse. I really like the smell of P. x belotii, but this is even better. A photograph will have to suffice until that technology is invented. Obviously, there are more flowers to come!

Greenhouse Growth

Well, the greenhouse that I built with my father this Summer is doing the job so far. In fact, Passiflora cirrhiflora is thriving better now than it did outside. It clearly likes the heat provided by the sun and a trash can full of water with a submersible aquarium heater inside and the humidity from a misting stand that emits daily. Of course there are other species and hybrids in the greenhouse from cuttings and seed alike, but the growth on P. cirrhiflora is extravagant. I should be seeing lots of fully form flowers by the end of 2013!

New Nigradenia

I recently received an online auction Passiflora nigradenia. The plant came really fast through the mail, and when I opened the box I was surprised to find a blooming plant. I've never had a blooming Passiflora come through the mail, so this was a very nice and sweet-smelling surprise. It came in a tiny little pot that rapidly dried out so I up-potted it shortly after relocating it to the greenhouse. I'm excited to see what this one can do when the next growing season rolls around.

Bloody Cherry Tart

Passiflora Cherry Tart (cupraea x (P. yucatanensis and P. biflora)) has been growing slowly in the side yard. It was a bonus to an online auction, and I didn't have any plans for it, so for now it's growing on a little trellis between my yard and the neighbors'. Much to my surprise, though many of the established plants have slowed their blooming this late into October, this little guy decided to start budding. I thought for sure they would abort, but no, today there was a little crimson bloom! Halloween is just around the corner, so this little blood red tart has good timing.

New Nephrodes

Awhile back I planted P. nephrodes with P. x exoniensis. P. exoniensis exploded with growth, and basically choked out P. nephrodes. Before it could die, I decided to pull it out of the pot. Despite some root damage and being little more than a stick, it did come back from almost certain death inside my new and custom greenhouse. Today, one of the buds that has slowly been forming bloomed. It's the first time that this little pink flower has emerged from my plant. It's a dainty little thing.

South Coast Botanic Garden: Part 2 - Green House and Beyond

Besides some dubious name plates on the decaloba subgenus of Passiflora specimens, the green house was fun. The vines were climbing all over the trusses, and the carnivorous plants were hanging everywhere. The Passiflora were so vigorous about getting to the light that they had actually penetrated the air conditioner and were thriving on the other side.

Beyond the greenhouse is where I found P. caerulea growing in and through its neighbors. Consequently, when the hedges and boughs were recently trimmed, P. caerulea was cut back pretty severely. Despite that, there were some low hanging literal fruit and all signs said that come next Spring there would be plenty of flowers to see. 

South Coast Botanic Garden: Part 1 - Passiflora Misidentified

I went to the South Coast Botanic Garden today as a late birthday adventure. I had been traveling for work for two weeks back-to-back, and since it was both a beautiful day and a day that I could stay away from the office, I decided that it would be fun to traipse around there even if most of the plants weren't in bloom. Chiefly I had seen a P. caerulea picture on Yelp, so I knew there was some hunting to do. There was also a greenhouse that I discovered once there that housed several bromelias, pitcher plants, and many Passiflora especially subgenus decaloba. Many were not in bloom, but it was still fun to play "Where's Waldo". Their name plates (reproduced faithfully) were as follows:

P. Lavendar Lady
P. White Wedding
Gynura aurantiaca 'Purple Passion Vine'
P. hahnii  (=P. guatemalensis)
P. tricuspis
P. lancearia (=P. talamancensis)
P. apetala

Having seen that a couple of the species shared names, and not being as familiar with the decalobas, I returned home to investigate. It turns out that P. hahnii and P. guatemalensis are often confused, but I think I've found the answer.

"P. guatemalensis, common from Mexico to Venezuela, looks very similar to P. hahnii. For a long time they were thought to be one and the same species, and Killip (1938) erroneously mentioned P. guatemalensis as a synonym for P. hahnii. It be distinguished from P. hahnii by its stipules and shorter peduncles, and by the usual lack of extrafloral nectaries at the base of the leaf blade. While in P. guatemalensis the toothed stipules end in filiform appendages, in P. hahnii these are reduced to tiny teeth at most, or a single central tooth. John Vanderplank (1996a) points out that the flowers of P. hahnii appear singly, while in P. guatemalensis they mainly appear in pairs. This is generally true by not as dependable as the structure of the stipule." - MacDougal and Ulmer 2004

Based on the above description of the stipules and this photo, I believe the specimen in the South Coast Botanic Garden to be P. guatemalensis; not P. hahnii.

On to the next odd pair. I've found that P. lancearia is nothing like P. talamancensis, which is a difficult species for which to find information. It does however have almost identical leaves to P. helleri. So, now I have a three-way puzzle to solve. For which, I do not have an answer. Any advice is appreciated.

Another species to check would be P. tricuspis, which is commonly the misidentified P. trifasciata. Again, MacDougal land Ulmer write:

"Occasionally, one comes across a plant cultivated under the name Passiflora tricuspis that is actually P. trifasciata. These sister species can be distinguished by their leaves, though some specimens are more difficult to classify than others. In P. tricuspis, the 2 outer lobes are usually noticeably longer than the middle one."

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture in which to compare the lobes. I did get the contact information for the individual in charge of the greenhouse, so I'll be giving her a call to discuss some of these discrepancies. 

Obviously, Gynura aurantiaca 'Purple Passion Vine' is not a passion vine at all. I don't even know what to make of this, but I hope to get clarification soon.

By the way, I did find P. caerulea when I saw a immature split open fruit on the ground. Upon inspection I found the source to be a rather large vine that had been recently cut back with its surroundings. I'll have to go back sometime later to see it in bloom.

Gulf Fritillary

Before a flock of pigeons flew over and noticeably scared her, there was a gulf fritillary butterfly laying her eggs on my Passiflora. I wonder what she thought when she encountered my collection...perhaps something along the lines of, "Jackpot!" I stood with a camera watching her for 10 minutes or so trying to capture the moment when she stuck her egg to the leaves of my plants. I wasn't as lucky as I hoped, but I did capture a few shots of her and the evidence she left behind.

In Memoriam: Passiflora 'Erl'

My very first original hybrid bloomed today!! It's P. Blue-Eyed Susan x P. Blue Bouquet or if you prefer ((P. incarnata × P. edulis) × (P. incarnata × P. cincinnata)) × (P. caerulea × (P. amethystina × P. caerulea))...all that. For short, I'm going to register it as Passiflora 'Erl'. I've had the name picked for quite some time; ever since I discovered these plants. I wanted to use my very first opportunity to register a hybrid in memoriam of the brother lost to someone very important to me and many others. He drove a baby-blue Mercedes, many years older than he, so in a way it seems fitting. To draw any more analogies would be disparaging. But, if this is the only hybrid that I'm able to contribute to the enthusiast and horticulturist community, then I'm proud that it has this name. I'll distribute it freely, and in my garden and in others P. Erl will live on.

Urban(iana) Garden

Passiflora foetida 'urbaniana' has been blooming for a couple of weeks, but high enough up on the pergola to make taking a picture not simple. There were plenty of buds that were developing and dangling down to head level, so I decided to wait it out. Today I pointed the camera and snapped a couple to find that this dainty little flower has hairy stigma.

Summer Humming

It's a hot one today by Redondo Beach standards; easily into the mid 80's. I trimmed up the Passiflora vines on the pergola because Fall is approaching and I don't need them to get too clustered and consequently sick. Anyway, I was admiring my work when a humming bird came into the yard, took a few drinks from P. racemosa 'buzios', and then landed well very close to me. I was certain if I moved to get the camera that it would zip away, but despite that certainty, I went for it. Sure enough, when I came back with camera already zoomed and in front of my face, it was gone. Then it came right back! It landed a total of three times and I was able to get very close so long as I moved slowly and kept the camera in front of my face. Apparently, they're smart enough to recognize that a face means danger. This was a very cool ending to August.

Yellow is a Bee's Best Friend

A third Passiflora cirrhiflora bud opened today and of course I went bonkers with the camera. I got some good shots including one in particular when a honey bee landed on the corona and took a look around. Since the bee populations have taken a nose dive due to what is referred to as colony collapse disorder, which is just a phrase for something for which no one can agree upon the cause, it's rare to see them. But lately, I've noticed with the citrus smell from P. cirrhiflora, there are a few more bopping about.

Greenhouse

Recently my father and I built a greenhouse in my back yard to replace the flower house that I had originally put up there. The flower house was great last winter. I set it up with the trashcan filled with water and an aquarium heater; some grow lights, and it performed marvelously. Granted, the Winter in Redondo Beach isn't all that severe, but it was warm enough inside to sprout seeds and keep my equatorial species (e.g. P. cirrhiflora and P. serrato-digitata) happy. However, the sun and my constant egress through the zippered door was too much, and it slowly became dilapidated. This Spring I hatched the plan to buy a green house, but there aren't any made for a 5'x5' space that are also free standing. I entertained having one custom built, but the cost of that endeavor was too high. So, this Summer I started thinking about building one. I eventually landed on a supplier for 10 mm thick, twin wall polycarbonate panels for the glazing. To assemble it I purchased a router with a bit large enough to cut a channel in the frame in which the polycarbonate would nest snugly. I purchased some hinges for the door and the roof, which opens using an automatic opener when the temperature is high enough to extend wax filled piston. At my mother's direction I caulked the upward facing edges for the frame to prevent water from rotting out the pressure treated wood. A little weather stripping around the lid and door frame sealed it up except for a pass through for a hose that feeds a mister and an extension cord that powers the fan and lights. I used some plastic scaffolding that was intended for a modular cat tree to build shelves along with some left over polycarbonate. To keep the door shut I attached some magnetic latches to the door and frame. It looks and works great so far. There are already a bunch of seedlings inside. I'll keep monitoring the temperature to make sure the opener is doing its job.

Thanks mom and dad for all the help!

Passiflora Cirrhiflora in Bloom!

It finally happened the day after my first original hybrid opened. Passiflora cirrhiflora opened early on a Monday morning that I happened to be taking off from work. I was up early to catch it beginning to open. The yellow inside was mimicking the sunrise, and when I inspected it after an hour more of sleep, it was open in full glory. There's not much more to say that wouldn't be gilding the passie.

Whip it in the Bud

It's the middle of August. It's not exceptionally warm, but the sun is still high, and the days are still long. Despite this it seems to be taking forever for my two most anticipated buds to open. One is, of course, is P. cirrhiflora. It has several large and small buds on it, but the largest of all is shaping up and beginning to show color through the sepals. That seems like a good sign, but I know that if I hold my breath in hopes that it opens this weekend - I'll pass out. The other is my hybrid, potentially my first to be registered and named. So, that's big for me, and it could be special beyond that and have potential collector value. I'd be perfectly happy with the first of these attributes. I have no clue when that will open, but it may be on the same day as P. cirrhiflora, which would make for one great day to be sure.

Big Red

The highlight summer for the last two seasons has been seeing P. x decaisnea in bloom. The first one opened today, and I took a few dozen pictures in the early marine layer haze.

Passiflora Inventora

Container 1:

• P. holosericea 
• P. 'Manta' (xiikzodz × coriacea) 
• P. foetida 'urbaniana' 

Container 2:

• P. parritae 

Container 3:

• P. × decaisnea (alata × quadrangularis) 
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata) 
• P. 'Lady Margaret' (coccinea × incarnata) 
• P. 'Saphire' (edulis × caerulea) 

Container 4:

• P. racemosa 'buzios' 
• P. × belotii (alata x caerulea) 

Container 5:

• P. x 'exoniensis' (antioquiensis × tripartita var. mollissima) 

Container 6:

• P. 'Sunburst' (gilbertiana × jorullensis) 

Container 7:

• P. trisecta 

Container 8:

• P. 'Raspberries and Cream' (gritensis x subpeltata)

Container 9:

• P. cirrhiflora 

Container 10:

• P. loefgrenii 

Container 11:

• P. membranacea 

Container 12:

• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x 'Blue Bouquet' 
• P. actinia x (sidifolia x actinia) 
• P. glandulosa 

Container 13:

• P. nephrodes 

Container 14:

• P. serrato-digitata 
• P. luzmarina x ? 
• P. matthewsii 

Container 15:

• P. Donna Brigham ( ? x pinnatistipula) 

In the Ground:

• P. tarminiana 
• P. edulis flavicarpa 

Little pots for little plants

• P. gritensis 
• P. tarminiana 'alba' 
• P. lindeniana 
• P. tulae 
• P. umbilicata 
• P. morifolia 
• P. sidifolia x (miersii x kermensia) 
• P. Mission Dolores 
• P. Mission Dolores x antioquiensis
• P. macrocarpa
• P. Cherry Tart (cupraea x (P. yucatanensis and P. biflora))
• P. subrotunda

Collage

I collected lots of pollen today by cutting down the blooms that emerged. Prior to neutering all of them, although they were already decapitated, I made a little collage.

Donna Brigham the Raspberries and Cream

Today I was at the nursery again. [Cue dramatic music] I found P. Donna Brigham and P. Raspberries and Cream. I had to Google 'DB' and it looked like a very nice Tacsonia on my phone in the bright sunlight of early August. Just adjacent to that one was Raspberries and Cream, an obvious P. gritensis hybrid. Yep, I had to have that too. They both are in the front yard where P. Coral Sea drowned. I changed the pots to ones with holes in the bottom. I am rapidly running out of space. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make some hard decisions soon if this coming Autumn and Winter don't do it for me. Either that, or I need to figure out how to upside my yard, which I think means moving. I enjoy this hobby too much to just stop collecting.

As soon as Donna Brigham blooms...it did!

One Month to Matthewsii

One of my recent acquisitions was a little P. matthewsii in a 4" pot. Long story short, it bloomed about a month later. For a tacsonia that's a pretty good little plant. I'm definitely going to fold this one in to the gene pool. It's a perky little pink flower. Let the experimenting begin!

Tenuous Tendrilous Buds

So, I was pollinating a few flowers in Pergolatory after work today. I was heading back into the house, when I decided to check P. cirrhiflora. I had noticed a few days prior that they were a deeper darker green color than the rest of the vine. I noted this as unusual, and hoped that meant something big was coming...or rather, something small. It has been warm lately - in the mid 70's during the day; mid 60's tonight. Maybe?! maybe my hopes were coming true?

In fact, yes, there were tiny buds on the tendrils of one of the growing tips! They're very small. They're very delicate. I'm going to hold off on the pesticides because I've noticed that sometimes it will cause flower bud abortions. I'm going to be careful with the watering and feeding, and the rest is in the weather's hands. The forecast calls for sunshine and warmth, so I remain anxious and hopeful!

Update:

Update 2.

Update 3.

Loefgren-bee

I was out snapping photos this morning and noticed a bee bouncing around in Pergolatory. He landed on P. loefgrenii and licked up the nectar from each and every petal and sepal. He revolved 360 around the corona until he was satiated then bubbled off. I don't see many bees here, and when I do, they're usually dead from the still unresolved affliction that their colonies have sustained lately.

You can see his tongue in the first shot.

Holosericea in the Morning

I've had P. holosericea for two seasons now. I knew that it was unlikely to bloom in its first, and after it was attached by some fungus during the Winter months, I didn't know if it would survive. Well, it did survive, and has spread to all four corners of the pergola. I noticed some buds on it a few weeks back, and yesterday one opened, but when I went back to take a picture later in the day when the sun would be at a better angle, it was all closed up. Hmmm. So, today came, as todays tend to do, and another bud opened. This time I took the pictures regardless, and sure enough when I came back to admire it again later in the day, it was already closed. It's a nice little decaloba, but I don't think that I care for how early I have to get up to admire it in the best light. I'm not a morning person.

June Bloom

June gloom is how locals in my area, the Southbay, refer to the weather this time of year. We have a thick marine layer that lingers until mid-afternoon that shields the sun and heat from us. While other parts of the state that are more inland are experiencing 90's or more, it's in the cool 70's or even 60's here. Nevertheless Pergolatory is in good form right now. There are lots of blooms emerging this week. See for yourself!

Horned Melon

I spotted a weird fruit in the produce section of my local grocery store. I had never seen a fruit quite like it, but I had since moving to California seen similar fruits of various sizes; from lychee to durian. It was yellow and covered with plenty of sharp spines. I bought one with my regular groceries, and the check out employee asked me, "Is this good?" I replied, "I have no idea."

So a couple of days later, I was feeling brave. I pulled it from the fridge and having no idea what else to do with it. I sliced it like a kiwi and found that it was about the same color inside. It had pale seeds like those you might find in a "seedless" watermelon, and without knowing what else to do, I took a scoopful on my spoon and tasted it.

It was marvelous. It's described in various ways, but to me it tasted of cucumbers and limes with the texture of gelatin. So this horned melon, or kiwano as it is sometimes called, was not cheap. So, having my propagation trays not quite full of Passiflora seeds, I decided to save a few from my new fruit. I popped those into the little wells, and went on a business trip. Three days later, I have nearly 100% germination in all of the wells. I was not expecting that. Nevertheless, it looks like I won't need to buy that fruit anymore!

Butterfly Eggscapade

While doing rounds this morning and checking on my little plants grown from seed, I spotted a conspicuous yellow spec on one of the rounded leaves of an P. actinia hybrid. I knew what it was before really going in to inspect it, but as I did I noticed another. There had been Gulf Fritillary butterflies flitting about Pergolatory recently. I knew they were laying eggs by their behavior. They would stop as they do near flowers, except they were stopping at leaves, dropping their lower abdomens, and depositing eggs on my collection. The eggs are golden yellow and look like tiny bee hives with a cellular structure. I'm sure most of them die to my insecticides, so I'm not concerned a bit. Otherwise, it would be cause for alarm as those little caterpillars can really do a number.

No May Flower without May Seed!

Today two shipments of seeds arrived today! The first set is from the Passiflora Society International (PSI) http://www.passiflorasociety.org/.

P. gritensis
P. umbilicata
P. tarminiana 'alba'
P. kermesia
P. morifolia

And from an undisclosed donor to Pergolatory I received:

P. lindeniana
P. tulae
P. gibertii-like
P. arbelaezii

I actually only requested P. lindeniana, so when I found that the parcel contained the others, I was surprised and very pleased to see that last one on the list. I had to cross reference with another of my posts to check my suspicions  but I was correct! P. arbelaezii is a n=12! That means when P. tetranda arrives, I'll have twice as many n=12 passiflora to test against P. cirrhiflora (assuming she blooms)!

Update: I'm counting sprouts now.

6 P. gritensis
26 P. umbilicata
6   P. tarminiana 'alba'
0   P. kermesia
4   P. morifolia
13   P. lindeniana
1   P. tulae
1   P. gibertii-like
0   P. arbelaezii
2   P. sidifolia x (P. miersii x P. kermesina)

Getty Garden

I went to the Getty Museum in L.A. this last week. It was a beautiful 70°F weekday, so there were no crowds. The exhibits were marvelous as per usual, but the garden was in rare form as well. The angel trumpets were in full bloom as well as nearly everything else. The pictures speak for themselves.